_{Can everybody reading this do me a favor and go over to *NatsNeko and send her lots of hugs, love, llamas, etc. And comment on her page saying something along the lines of "Thank you very much you lovely person for giving a subscription to Pacthesis because without it, she wouldn't be able to post a lovely new journal with lovely pictures."
But please, no spamming. Or if you're too lazy and don't want to, that's a-okay too.
Thanks in advance. ;o;}

After approximately 168 hours of playing video games, sleeping, walking on my treadmill, watching movies/anime, and doing leisure activities that are rare for me, I've decided to start another project.



It is said that when people die, they become stars. A group of people from different parallel universes and planets go on a journey to travel outside the Solar System and bring back loved ones who have passed away.



I suppose you could call it a dating sim about aliens, but technically they are all human… just from different planets in different parallel universes in which their planet is the only known one to be able to support human life. (example: in one universe, Mercury has oxygen/water and is the 3rd planet from the sun while Earth is the 1st.)

Right now you see 4 bachelors, but this game will have a total of 8… at least one (if not two of them) will be a bachelorette.

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Release Date

My goodness, it's too early to tell. I think this project is going to be big… even bigger than Number Days. I might even break my 6 month "rule"/limit. I MIGHT. BUT I REALLY HOPE I DON'T HAVE TO BECAUSE DANG GURL HALF A YEAR IS A LONG TIME AND I WANNA MOVE ON. My early dating sims took me about 2-3 months to finish each… my more recent ones have been in the 4-5 range… I'll post a release month/date when I think I have one, okey-dokey.

Story

Tara has never been good at making friends. While she does have a few close ones, her best friend, Lee is one of the most important people to her. When he is diagnosed with leukemia, Tara finds it hard to imagine life without him as she has known him since childhood. She holds strongly onto the belief that Lee would recover, but he eventually loses his battle with cancer. Despite feeling prepared for the worst outcome, Tara feels deep anguish.

Later she encounters an odd bunch of individuals and what looks like a spaceship. They are apparently on a journey to travel outside the Solar System to "The Constellations", an area inhabited by people from all universes who have died. It is said that if a price is paid, one can bring a deceased person back to life. While Tara initially considers joining the crew, she ends up refusing and going home.

The following night, Tara is "abducted" by the crew. No, they don't want to probe her brain, but she happened to have dropped the gift she received from Lee on her birthday and they just wanted to return it. (apparently ringing the doorbell would've been too suspicious, so abduction it was) As the crew was about to set Tara back on her way, she requests to come along and they welcome her aboard. Tara embarks on a journey to not only give Lee a second chance at life, but to also discover how to make new friends and what life really means to her.

As each character's story gets deeper, they will show off more of their true personality and eventually they will reveal the identity of the person they wish to bring back to life.
Genre of the story is best described as adventure, sci-fi, romance, comedy ("pacdabutt" humor), and a bit slice of life.

Characters

From Earth and is the main character (that you can rename of course). Sometimes plays the role of "the only sane person". While she's the adventurous type, she's cautious and skeptical. Might be the "smartest" out of all of the main characters/players I've made. Enjoys challenges, but sometimes sticks her nose where it doesn't belong. She recently donated her hair which made her friend, Lee a little upset before he passed away. He thought that she looked better with long hair.


From Pluto. Earthlings aren't the only ones who don't classify Pluto as a planet. The other crew members never even heard of Pluto before. Ry constantly insists that Pluto is the most awesome and planet-like planet to ever be. Often likes to think that he's in charge even when he's lacking the authority. He's the type that goes out of his way for others, but can be too compassionate for his own good… which gets him in trouble. Despite wanting to be good for the world, he almost seems to enjoy causing trouble. "A bad boy with morals"… I suppose that's what he's called.


From Saturn. Sometimes referred to as "Mag" by the others. In English, his name sounds like a thing we read while taking a dump, but in his native language, "Magazine" is just a name… like "John". (they overcome language barriers are with a special device) The technology in his world is beginning to cause major problems as people are abusing its power and causing war. He's technically the "captain" of the ship because it belongs to him, but he doesn't act like one due to his apathy. Sometimes his personality is so mechanical, it's humorous. Things that look "cute" tickle his fancy though…


From Neptune. In his culture, exposing one's face in public is just as inappropriate as walking around without pants on. The face is something only lovers are supposed to see. It's even inappropriate for family and close friends to see faces. Children and the elderly are excused from this "norm" however. He still finds it a bit uncomfortable being around people who expose their faces so much. He lost his mask and is resorting to a box to cover his face. While he's a gentleman at heart and has good manners, he is paranoid and freaks out often… and I mean often.


From Mercury. Has little compassion for others but often finds himself being dragged into situations he'd rather not take part in. Not initially part of the crew but joins later in the story. He actually never wanted to be part of the crew but his own transportation device broke down while he was trying to get to The Constellations. He should be thankful that they even took him in, but he acts very bitter towards everyone. Perhaps he just doesn't know how to express his gratitude. (my a**hole senses are tingling… but who knows, I might not hate him as much as I think I will… just look at Xolga, he was able to get on my good side)

Gameplay

Like Number Days, there will be objectives/quests/etc. but they will play out more like "side quests" that are unrequired to continue the main story, but lead to different story/character paths. If one were to ignore all of the objectives and quests, the gameplay will feel more like my older dating sims. That way, if one's browser were to crap out on them, they would have to make up less progress. (save systems on flash with action script 2.0 are rather iffy, and they don't work with every browser… for the most part, I'm going to avoid them because they are not reliable enough)

There will be different worlds (I'm planning for Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and maybe one extra which is a secret right now) the crew can travel to where the player can meet and unlock more characters they can befriend/"date".

I'm splitting the bachelors/ bachelorettes into two groups: the main "crew" (all of them are shown in the poster) and side characters. All of them will have story routes and you can get endings with each one. Main differences between the two groups is that the main crew plays a large role in the main plot while the side characters just play a role in their own story in their own worlds.

The side characters will be from one of each: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus. At least one (if not two) of them will be female… and one of them is going to be a guy with glasses because I love guys with glasses and I'll be too sad if I have to make a game with no glasses guy.  So actually, there will be 8 different characters to choose from… whew, a lot of work up ahead…

I might not l reveal their identities prior to the release of this game just for the sake of surprising you guys. But who knows, pictures of them will probably get leaked onto my tumblr eventually.
There will also be multiple endings similar to Memory and Number Days.

Notes

<sub>I know that a lot of people out there want me to go a little more "mainstream" with the theme/concepts of my dating sims (vampires, demons, wizards, ninjas, magic, creatures, fantasy, music/idols, school setting, cat/dog/animal people—I've done a few of those by the way) but when I think of an idea, I try to let it flow. I guess my ideas don't always flow in the direction of vampires and stuff. When my ideas go mainstream, I let them go mainstream. When's the next time that's going to that happen? It's hard to predict that kind of stuff…

A part of me feels like I should be making stuff that pleases you guys and another part of me says that I should be free to make whatever I want because this is my hobby and people just happen to support t it. Well this isn't an actual occupation and it's not my job, but I think I can find a happy medium between the two.

And I can't make dating sims about your favorite anime/manga, other TV shows, books, movies, etc. Or else the ad company will steal my kidneys and eat my face off, remember? Or if they don't… I'll probably get sued. I don't own any of those characters or stories.
Don't get this confused with making fan art/fan games/fan etc. that are nonprofit. Fan stuff is mostly harmless until one starts making a profit off of it without the rights—but that's another territory and I'm not going to go over it because I don't know all of the rules.</sub>

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Eventually, more info/pictures/WIP stuff will be posted on my tumblr.

EDIT: The game is available to play now. Hope you enjoy! C:

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All right. I hibernated for the rest of the summer. Now it's time to get back into action.
My college experience so far and the people I've gotten to know within the past couple of months have given me some good inspiration.



This is Texting Days Sim Date *cough* I mean *cough* Number Days Sim Date.
But don't be fooled. I promise you, there is very little to no math involved in this game… So why does this dating simulation have a weird title? Read on!

(And yes, you can date the chick. If you're grossed out by this option or if you're just simply a straight girl with no desire to explore, you can avoid all the romantic situations by ignoring her… this also applies to any dudes that gross you out.)

EDIT: I finally have a release date for Number Days! Well… more like "release month"... but...
Release date: December 2012
(You may be wondering: "The beginning, middle, or... end of the month?" It's hard to predict the exact day I can release it but it'll be ready within December, I'm pretty sure of it) ;w;
*cough* disclaimer: this project may be delayed if not canceled if I suddenly kick the bucket, get abducted by aliens, or if the world comes to an end, etc. *cough*

Thanks for staying tuned, guys!

Story

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Today's the grand opening of the new amusement park in town so Evelyn and her friends decided to check it out. After a long day of waiting in lines and having fun, it was time to go home… unfortunately for Evelyn, she finds herself alone and lost in the park in a blink of an eye. A massive glass wall surrounds the park's borders and it seems that everyone had disappeared as not another soul was in sight.

Despite not having a signal, her cell phone receives a text from an unknown source: "Your time here will end when your number reaches zero." Evelyn soon meets others in the desolate amusement park. Like her, they also received the mysterious text message. When everyone put their heads together, they noticed that all of their cell phones display a number instead of the time. Uncannily, their phones also seem to correspond with their own energy. When their phone's battery is full, they feel alert and awake. In contrast, they feel exhausted when their phone has little to no power. Good thing a lot of kids nowadays bring their own phone chargers with them.

As days pass by, their numbers rise and drop in an unpredictable pattern. Evelyn and the others decided to work together and hope to not only solve the meaning behind these numbers, but to find a way out of the amusement park.

Characters

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Evelyn (renamable): Passive and usually reserved around strangers, though she's not bad at getting along with them. She's generous and the type of person who gives more than she takes. Her number starts at 12. It's unknown to the group why her number is the lowest.


Thane: Calm and cool. He likes to get all the facts before making any conclusions and does a lot of thinking in his spare time. He was working in the arcade before the whole incident. It was his first day too. Tough luck. His number is the highest and starts at 29.


Spencer: Smart, but impulsive. Sometimes he'll be aggressive and stubborn, but he genuinely cares for people close to him. He's pretty skeptical about the whole situation. Beforehand, he was also hanging out with friends at the amusement park. His number starts at 22.


Bryce: Easy going and whimsical. He has a talent for calming people down and holds the group together despite not being the "leader" type. He is a psychology student who was studying human behaviors at the amusement park for a project. His number starts at 17.


Lena: Very quiet and extremely apathetic. She hardly speaks or shows any emotion. Evelyn seems to be the only person she's willing to talk to. Perhaps she's just shy. She doesn't reveal her reason for visiting the amusement park until much later. Her number starts at 20.


Arlo: A strange but friendly guy. He's outgoing, curious, and playful. He always means well, but sometimes he'll cross the line of what's appropriate and what's not. Unfortunately for him, he lost his cell phone so he has no idea what his number is. (And yes, a lost phone is quite an issue... as his energy correlates with his phone's battery...)

This time around, the number of days you'll play for will depend on what you do in the game. There is a pattern and a cause behind what increases and decreases the numbers. You may even figure it out before the rest of group does. The longer you last, the deeper the story and characters will become. (Don't worry about not lasting long. Lasting a decent amount of time will be easy. Staying longer will take more effort of course.)



There will be multiple endings and cut scenes. Major cut scenes will have nice CGs (like Memory Days) but I am going to incorporate the use of game (chibi) sprites more in this game. It might feel a bit RPG-ish or adventure-ish at times. I'll let you decide if that's a good or a bad thing. Regardless of opinions, this is one of my rules for this project: "I do what I want." (Projects I've done in the past that had me appeal to the audience as much as possible despite my tastes and objections seem to be less successful…)

I would like to have this story bring the characters together. Instead of having the player just interact one on one with each character, I plan to have more cut scenes where all the characters are involved. While the player will still have romantic interests, I want the group as a whole to be able to develop a strong friendship as the story progresses. The whole premise of this game might sound a bit dramatic/horror-ish, and while I can't deny the fact that the group will face some serious dilemmas, there will still be romance and my usual "humor" in this story.

Other Notes

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Many of you have requested for the option to customize the main/player character in my future sim dates. I appreciate the thoughtful suggestions and I do note them. I'm not going to say that a custom character would be impossible for me to do, but it would be a really great feat for me to take on. Drawing and coding wise, it would be extremely time consuming. (I try to avoid spending more than 6 months on a single project. *cough* Chrono Days *cough* Projects that last over half a year tend to take over my life since I work on them alone.)  I'm also wary of the fact that I likely will not be able to satisfy the many tastes/styles/preferences out there. People tend to get picky about hair styles and clothing when they get the option to customize their characters.
As of now, I do not plan to incorporate the option to customize characters in any of my future works, but it is not a completely dead idea to me.

Some of you many have realized that this will be my first sim date that features a player character with black hair. Why have I avoided making a player character with this hair color for so long? My main reason was that I didn't want fans/people to compare me to the character. When I was younger, I would refrain from drawing girls with long or dark hair because I didn't like it when people asked me, "Are you drawing yourself?". Don't know why I felt that way, but carry on.
My second reason would probably be the fact that the guy with black hair tends to be popular in every game (I'll get statistics of it, I swear… no I won't. Don't get your hopes up.) and I have this unspoken rule that "everyone within a game/project all have to different hair colors unless if they're related." Well good for these guys, right? They don't have to compete with the "black-haired guy" this time around…
But lord, if anybody says something along the lines of "omg the main character looks liek u" I'm going to Amy Smash everythingggggggg alksdfjlsdf I'm not a 2-D person. I'm 3-D. Three. Dimensional. Not even my 2-D drawn avatar of myself looks like herrrrr. Actually, I probably won't even freak out. Maybe I'll be just a bit annoyed if over 100 people make that comment.
All right. I think I made my point.

Can't believe I forgot to also note the issue about making a sim date based off of shows/movies/manga/anime. Suggestions are nice, but unfortunately the ad network I work with will bite my head off if I try to submit a game to them with any copyrighted characters in it. Suggestions like "Make a Naruto/Hunger Games/Twilight/Harry Potter/Ouran High School Host Club/Power Rangers/Sponge Bob/Adventure Time/(ETC) sim date" are sadly suggestions I can't really note. I am aware that I did push it with Wonderland Days Sim Date (I was a rookie/noob at the time) Back then I actually didn't know that I was pushing the limits. It was a year later that I then realized that I was able to dodge that bullet since the characters were original despite the concept.

You can creep on this project's progress here:

[link]

Occasional WIP screen shots/.gifs/quotes/stuff will be posted on my tumblr. I will refrain from posting major spoilers, but stay away from there if you don't want to see any spoilers.

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Oh man. This journal is ridiculously long. Thanks for reading/skimming/checking this out. Likely there will be updates (WIP posts, month of release, etc.) I'm sorry, I do take a lot of time on these projects but I highly appreciate the amazing patience you guys have for meeeeee.

Panic no more! It's out!

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BEEEEEEEFORE YOU START READING...
If you have no idea what the two pictures posted below are of and have no interest in knowing, please, PLEASE don't waste your time reading this journal.
Thank you. Have a lovely day.

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SO…

I've noticed quite a few of you are losing patience for the release of Memory Days Sim Date. I really hope to finish it before summer ends. This means it could come out in either July or August... (Or possibility later than that if I hit a major setback of some kind. That's highly unlikely though... just sayin'. I'm decent at predicting things.) It's pretty hard to say when exactly it will come out since this project's not running on a solid schedule (due to experimenting, my part time job, and school (Classes start in a couple of weeks for me, please don't ask what college I'm attending. That's stepping a little bit too far into the stalker territory.)

SO I KIND OF CAME UP WITH A SOLUTION…
_{BEHOLD. A FABULOUS LINK LIES BELOW.}

  [link]

WIP (work in progress) screen shots will be posted on it hopefully somewhat often. DO YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS??
It means that you can stalk/creep on the progress of Memory Days Sim Date until it's done! You guys get to start off with four bonus screen shots!
(I will refrain from posting screen shots that involve major spoilers, but for those of you who still have patience and hate even the smallest of spoilers, I would highly recommend that you stay far, far away from it.)

Now the real question is… what will happen to that tumblr after Memory Days is finished…
Honestly, I have no idea. I may start posting different things… or maybe activity will lessen… or just cease.

On a personal note, to keep myself from losing my soul to tumblr, I will follow absolutely nobody and nothing... except *trout-fish... and ~MHfan11794... oh look at that. I'm already breaking my own rules.
On another note, I'm starting to think that I may have to break my promise of having a secret character in this game... I'm just not feeling him, y'know?

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Disclaimer: If I suddenly pass away, get kidnapped by pirates, lose my computer (and external back up hard drive) in a tragic fire, get my eyes stolen by a leprechaun, or something along those lines… I can't guarantee the completion of Memory Days. Sorry, guys.

Another Disclaimer: It's very possible that not everything you see posted there will appear as it is in the final game as they are work in progress images...

Last updated: 11/4/12

Dating sims/Flash Questions

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What do you use to make your games and dating sims?
Macromedia Flash 8. (I'm using a pretty "outdated" version FYI...)

Is Flash free? Does it come with most computers like MS Paint?
It does not.

Where/how can I get Flash?
It can be purchased from the official Adobe website here. Like Photoshop, it's expensive. More retailers can be found with Google.

Will you make another sim date soon?
I might (if I'm not making one right now). But from 2009-2012, I've managed to release 2-3 games per year. I work on sim dates when I please.

Why don't you make dating sims for guys?
My current audience is made up of mostly young females. I'd like to target towards them. There are many visual novels/dating simulations for males out there though. Most are in Japanese, but there are quite a few in English too. Note that many if not most of them feature erotic content. You young ones better not blame me if your parents catch you jacking off and/or viewing pornography. I've already warned you.

Why don't your dating sims have sex/pornography/hentai in them?
My current audience is made up of mostly young girls. They don't like porn. Why? They probably think it's gross. And well, most of them aren't of the "legal" age either. But any who, the ad network I currently work with will steal and sell all of my internal organs to the black market if I include mature content in my works.

Are you ever going to make a dating sim with yaoi?
"Yaoi" refers to boys banging other boys and gay porn *cough* it's mature content, my ad network will eat me alive if I include it *cough* But as far as simple shonen-ai and boy romance goes, I can easily imagine myself including it in my future works. When though? I have yet to decide... the project itself really calls for these things, not me...

Will you make a dating sim about insert personal idea/concept here?
No. I generally like to come up with the concepts myself. These projects take commitment and it's usually easier for me to commit when it's personal. I'm pretty good at coming up with new ideas to work with, so don't worry about me running into block.

Will you make a insert favorite anime/book/movie/etc. here dating sim?
No. The ad network I work with will eat my face if I include any copyrighted content without the rights in my work. I am aware that I did push it with Wonderland Days Sim Date (I was a rookie/noob at the time) Back then I actually didn't know that I was pushing the limits. It was a year later that I then realized that I was able to dodge that bullet since the characters were original despite the concept.

Why do you make dating sims?
I like to think up stories, but I don't like to write. I like to doodle, but I don't like drawing a lot. Making dating sims (and visual novels) combines story telling, drawing, design, and coding. It seems to be a hobby that balances those things out well for me.

How do you unlock insert sim date characters name here?
Google's a good source for this kind of information... (I'm pretty bad at making walkthroughs)

How do you come up with your character designs for your sim dates?
Their designs are based purely on fan service... and my own judgement I suppose.

Help/Technical Questions

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What kind of tablet do you use?
A 4x6 Wacom Bamboo. It's nothing fancy or special, but it's really grown on me. I've been using it since 2008. It's like a pet to me.

What program do you use to draw your pictures?
As of now, Easy Paint Tool SAI and Flash.

I want to make a dating sim with money, HP, days, and stats. Any tips?
I don't know where to start... (Sorry, I probably couldn't make a decent tutorial to explain it all...) But hey! This lovely person made a great tutorial! Go check it out: [link]

I made a Flash! How do I post it up on deviantART?
FAQ #79: How do I submit art?

Can you make a tutorial on insert subject here?
There's somebody else on the internet who's better at insert subject here than me. I'm sure they would be a better source for information. (I'm pretty bad at making tutorials if you haven't noticed)

About your "How to Make a Sim Date tutorial", can you import image files and scanned pictures into a game instead of drawing directly in Flash?
Yes. You can import image files into Flash by going to File > Import > Import to Stage... or Import to Library...

I see people on this site and other sites using your art/games. Should I notify you about this?
My games are on multiple sites because of the publishers I work with. A lot of people post screen shots of my work and I'm completely okay with that too. But I'd appreciate it if I was notified if others were making a profit off my work...

Any tips for writer's/art block?
I've never found myself struggling with art block (because I'm not too artsy and I don't draw for "art" purposes) but when I get writer's block, I usually just stop writing and work on something else. The problem always seems to solve itself when I let my mind breathe a little. Finding new music (or changing the current genre I'm listening to), taking long showers, and living through daily life seems to help too.

How do you draw in Flash?
Sometimes I like to use the Pencil Tool to draw my lines and the Selection Tool to edit/bend my lines to my satisfaction. But lately, I've been using the brush tool. It seems to take me longer to finish drawings with the pen tool.

Where/how did you learn how to draw?
The wonderful internet and standard practice. But please don't use me as your role model for drawing. My anatomy/proportions are very inconsistent and "way off" because I could never draw professionally to save my life. There are so many people out there who are much, much, muuuch better. ;o; Note: There are a bunch of great drawing tutorials right here on deviantART too.

I'm horrible with Flash. Your sim date tutorial was nice, but I still don't get it at all. Will you do a sim date collab with me?
No. I'm a lone wolf. ;w;

General/Personal Questions

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How old are you?
I was born on March 30, 1994. Subtract that by the current date/year.

What's your race/nationality?
I was born and raised in America. I am Vietnamese.

Do you speak any other languages besides English?
No. My parents do speak a lot of Vietnamese around the house, but I never bothered to learn how to speak it.

How do you pronounce your user name?
The "correct" pronunciation of "Pacthesis" is "Pac-the-sis". "Pac" as in Pacman, "the" as in The 3 Little Pigs, and "sis" as in sister.) Think of it as like... packing your sister?

What's the origin of your user name? How did you come up with it?
I chose this user name is because it was original and nobody else has ever taken it... so far anyways. "Pacthesis" is actually a name of one of my super old characters from a comic I wrote back in 7th grade. Another weird thing about this "Pacthesis" character is that he was male, not female.

Why do you like coffee?
That's like asking some people why they love the taste of sugar. Coffee naturally appeals to my taste buds... and I "need" the caffeine. Though there was a time when I was drinking too much of it. I went through some bad withdrawal. I limit myself to one cup a day now.

Where do you get your ideas/inspiration from?
The wonderful internet and everything around me that exists. Plus I do a lot of thinking. Thinking is probably a hobby for me.

How come you don't reply to your messages? ... Or at least mine?
My apologies for my lack of activity. I'm bad at it. If I replied to all the messages I got... I'd be on my computer all day long.

Do you read all of your messages?
Honestly, I have to say no. It's hard to keep up with all the new ones coming in... and I don't log in everyday... and they just keep on building up... but when I browse and skim through comments, most of them contain pretty positive feedback. Thanks for all the support. ;7;

Will you be my friend/watch me on deviantART?
Friendship happens magically through time and experience... but overall, I don't watch a lot of people in attempt to keep my inbox from overflowing... not like it isn't already though...

Why do you get so many page views?
Because people like you stalk me and visit my page too often.

Can I make fan art of your character(s)/write fan fictions based on your games and stuff?
Go for it. Just never claim what's not yours. In other words, always give credit to the source(s) when necessary C:

Why do you call yourself "Pacdabutt" sometimes?
Because I'm a butt sometimes.